Egyptian Gold Smiths

Here is a picture (a relief,
actually) from a mastaba in Sakkara, the
necropolis of the early (and later) pharaohs and their underlings. It is about
4500 years old and shows how to raise the temperature of a fire.

It is a bit blurry, because it is dark in there and flashes
are not allowed. In consequence, three out of the roughly ten words every
Egyptian custodian or guardian seems to know are: "Flash no problem"
- always uttered with a stretched out hand (palm up). However, being a
scientist who knows what light can do to pigments over time, I kept my money
and tried to live with highly sensitive film (another triumph of point defect
and crystal engineering) and long exposure times.

This picture was originally painted; but only traces of the
colors are left by now.